you are right, it is not a livecd.I have never ran into any problems using the vinstall-iso, but i have never tried it in DSL.I can only suggest opening up the script and running each command in a terminal until it gives you an error and if you cant figure that out then post back here and we can help.

BlueMage, here to save the day! Why? Because I've done this several times now Install Vector from a DSL install, I mean.

First off, I would post my (modified) vinstall-iso script, but regretably it's on the slim client I have at home. That machine has NO cd-drive, hence why I've gotten fairly intimate with this process. There are a few small modifications, namely commenting out certain checks. Specifically, I haven't commented out the -S as I've completely buggered it off. I've also buggered off the bits related to /sys - that frequently caused my install to fail before it even got going.

## Copy the initrd.img echo "Preparing initrd ..." gunzip -c loop/isolinux/initrd.img > $INSTALLRD || \error_exit "cannot decompress initrd.img from ISO-file"Putting the gunzip'ing of initrd might work a bit better if you use this. As best i can tell, the -S is included so that the script doesn't break should the compressed file not be in a format the decompressor expects.

If I was at home I'd be able to give you a bit more help with this as I'd have it right in front of me. Unfortunately, that's not going to be until sometime mid-to-late January.

you can take the kernel and initrd from the ISO and put them into your boot folder, then add them to lilo and reboot making sure to place your ISO in the root of a partition you dont want to use for the installation. then choose the installer from the lilo menu and it will find the ISO and start the install.

Now it the script stops here:mount: special device /sys does not existERROR: cannot mount /sys filesystem

There is a line above: EXT2-fs warns that e2fsck is recommended. I think I can ignore this.

I can cd to the folder loop/sys, but the directory is empty. So I thought the image is bad, but md4sum says VL-5.8-std-Gold.iso is ok.

What can I do next?

I, um, I kinda cheat here - i comment out the lines that have anything to do with /sys in the vinstall-iso script. It's a dirty method, but it's worked for me. As best I can tell, it's a byproduct of using DSL - something about how it's set up compared to other distros. For example, no such dirty hax are required if you're trying to vinstall-iso from another vector install.

Also, yep, I also get the kernel panic and set-valid-root bit if the install mucks up - unfortunately, I'm not intimate enough with the process to troubleshoot it short of Windows'ing it by reinstalling.

If you can, follow what uelska8s is saying - his method isn't as dirty as mine, and I honestly have no idea what the side effects of how I install it are. They could be non-existent, they could be timebombs ticking down.